DVR Use Varies by Show Genre, Study Says

There is a correlation between program type and the level of digital video recorder playback a show gets, according to a new analysis by a leading media agency.
Steve Sternberg, executive VP at Magna Global, said nearly all action and sci-fi drama show above-average DVR playback so far this season. That includes “Heroes,” “Fringe,” “Prison Break,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Chuck,” “Smallville,” “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” “Supernatural,” “My Own Worst Enemy” and “Ghost Whisperer.”
Medical drama with serial storylines, such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House” and “Private Practice,” also show higher-than-average DVR playback, as do younger, female-skewing serialized drams, including “Lipstick Jungle,” “Gossip Girl,” “Privileged,” “One Tree Hill,” “Dirty Sexy Money” and “Desperate Housewives.”
The most DVR’d shows among adults 18 to 49 are “The Office” and “90210,” which get about 32% of their audience on a time-shifted basis.
Mr. Sternberg said that while 70% of television homes don’t have a DVR, the ones that do have them use them “with a vengeance.”
He said time-shifting on DVRs already accounts for 11% of national household ratings for the five broadcast networks during prime time—it’s 16% among adults 18 to 49—and that’s more than twice the impact VCRs had when they were in 90% of households.